WHERE THOUSANDS OF ENTREPRENEURS LEARN HOW TO GROW WEEKLY

Marketing, Funding Alex Batdorf Marketing, Funding Alex Batdorf

How Organic Marketing Was The Secret Weapon To Growing A 7-Figure Business with Ceata Lash, founder PuffCuff

Learn from Ceata Lash, founder of Puff Cuff.

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"Diversify your marketing portfolio because you're not in control. Own as much data as you can. Period!" - Ceata Lash

Hey, It's Alex here!

Who doesn't love change? As founders, we kinda have to, amiright?! ;)

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What you'll find in this traction briefing:

  • How to build your community of customers and engage with them.

  • How to build a company with social media marketing and how to find the right balance between paid promotion and organic growth.

  • How to own 100% of a company that's successfully scaling after nine years that only raised $200k.

  • What would you do with $120 Million - Here are some ways not to spend it!

Founder: Ceata Lash| Company: PuffCuff| Location: Marietta, Georgia

Where was she before PuffCuff?

Ceata considers herself an "independent hustler". She's a graphic designer, who's worked as a freelancer off and on in her career.


Problem

How do you grow and scale a multimillion dollar beauty business with just an idea?

As Ceata transitioned her hair from chemically straightened to all-natural, she identified a gap. There were no products in the market that could hold her natural hair without causing pain and/or damage.

That realization began her PuffCuff journey. With little information to rely on, she networked and collaborated with her peers to engineer her dream product and successfully brought it to market.


Your Target Market Might Not Be Your Actual Market


Although Puffcuff was originally created to help women of color hold their hair without breakage and pain, she quickly realized that there was a need from a different audience.

Lesson - Test out your product to see where it fits best - you might just realize there is a greater need than you anticipated.


Own Your Data



It seems like, with every new year, there is a new regulation when it comes to privacy and data. These changes have made marketing on social platforms not only more expensive but so much more difficult to convert your target market.

Lesson - Own your data and diversify your marketing portfolio! Learn more here.


All Money Is Not Good Money



Ceata has been able to bootstrap her company with little to no funding. Along the way, she's realized that all money is not good money. With each new funding comes added pressure and an increased risk of losing ownership of your company.

Lesson - Even as you accept investment, have a strategy in place of how you are going to pay it back.

Where women business owners get stuck.

"Women are creating jobs for themselves in their businesses." The biggest barrier for women entrepreneurs is revenue. Kara finds that women are struggling from Moving from creating a job for themselves to small business owner to scale. Kara breaks this down into 3 phases: Phase One: Making yourself a job where you don’t have employees. Phase Two: Putting together a small team and starting to put processes in place. Phase Three: Scale. Getting into the millions with multiple employees. Learn how you can get unstuck to get on a path to scale.


Pick Your Specific Box

"One of the things that helped us go from $250k to we’re looking towards $10M now is that we have chosen a very specific box." Y’all have heard me say it before and I’m got’ say it again, and again, and…. Niche is SEXY! Early-stage founders get stuck in the clouds by failing to get focused on one segement that creates iniital momentum early on that leads you to the big vision. One way to conquer this is by getting focused on what we call your "Hell Yes" customer. You don’t need to convince them of your value and they’re willing to pay a premium for what you offer. Speaking to everyone means you're solving for no one. Learn how to refine your box to grow.


Your #1 Job as CEO - Finding Your $10k Hour


"My job as CEO is to set strategy and keep cash in the bank. There are 4 types of hours: You have a $10, $100, $1000, and $10,000 hour. It’s your responsibility as the owner of the business to free yourself up for the $10,000 hour. If I’m spending my time on a $10 task, I’m literally stealing $9,990 from my business" Figure out your $10k hour here.

Here's Your Weekly Tea


The $120M Failure.  

Fast failed as quickly as its name. Despite raising $120M, the company only generated $600,000 last year.

Here’s where the founders & funders f**ked up:

  • Pressure: Pushing companies to grow faster than they’re able to in order to achieve a mythical unicorn title vs. building a solid business.

  • Reactivity: The pressure VC’s put on founders to "beat competitors" creates an internal pressure cooker where founders are reacting instead of building out the core business model. Stripe didn't force Fast to do anything. Stripe is in its own league, which Fast was nowhere near despite the capital raised. Fast could have benefited from taking a page from the Netflix playbook - allow other players trying to come for ya neck tire themselves out while you stay focused and keep delivering value. #RIPBlockBuster

  • Stupid Spending: Startups start spending money on stupid acquisition strategies to saturate the market vs fulfilling customer needs, spend all their coins, then need more capital but have no progress to show for.


Hot Take: Charismatic storytelling doesn't build good businesses. We gotta stop treating startups as saviors of the universe wrapped up in speeches from "charismatic" founder's. Startups will NOT save the world. Startups can solve problems we face in the world. The moment we shift from problem-solving to savior-ism, we've already failed.

How to Get & Stay Focused

"People are trying to solve problems they know nothing about." Some of the BEST companies are started by people solving problems that A. They’ve experienced and found the solution or B. They have industry-specific expertise. Kara mentions that in order to make this happen you need to first figure out what you are the best to solve for. More importantly, she mentions that it does NOT need to be sexy. So many founders are chasing trends instead of solutions. Some of the most lucrative businesses don’t mention AI, VR, Crypto, or whatever the hell is the buzzword today. They tap into a feeling by telling you what solution they’ll solve for their customer. Get the playbook on how to get and stay focused here.



What if You’re a Solo Entrepreneur or Have a Small Team?

"I will sacrifice almost anything to sell. I will not show up for meetings. I will ditch one-on-ones. The highest priority and the highest best use of my time is selling" Das it. That’s Kara’s advice. However, she acknowledges that this is super hard for women because we’re natural nurturers. We want to touch every employee, be at every game for the kids, etc and she says there’s no shame in that. However, Kara mentions that you have to decide whether you want to have a job or build an empire. Neither is wrong but it is a choice. Figure out what choice is best for you here.


Scale Major Keys - Pricing & Confidence.

"Sir, I think we’re too sophisticated for you at this point." This is exactly what Kara said to a lead who tried to nickel and dime her on price. Major BVE (big vagina energy) It’s key to nail your pricing and have confidence that what you’re offering is worthy AF. Once you get pricing down - scale happens in retention. Therefore, figuring out what in your business can generate recurring revenue is critical to creating your flywheel. Learn how to nail pricing & be confident in asking for what you deserve.



Prioritizing Your Time

"It takes me just as long to close a project-based client at $20k vs. a $120k retainer client." You’ll hear a lot about sales but what I love about Kara’s breakdown is she gives you the run-through of how she utilizes her time. From who she hires, to what sacrifices she makes, to her content planning frameworks. For example, they closed a $25,000/mo deal just from 1 LinkedIn post that she worked with a ghostwriter on while batching content. Learn how you can better prioritize your time.


Where You Can Support Kara?


If you're a company using Hubspot and want to level up your leads and sales funnel, connect with Kara.

TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...


Here are some tools that will help you get to your $10,000 hour, get pricing right, and prioritize your time<3

  • Get the Breakdown on the math behind getting to your $10k hour here.

  • Have you mastered the 80/20 rule? If not, get the guide on high leverage time management.

  • Maybe you never learned pricing? That's ok! We hear this often with founders. It's never too late to get started. Check it out Startup Pricing 101.

  • Check out the 7 different pricing strategies startups use here

  • Ready to develop your pricing hypothesis? Learn how to map it out here.

  • How Pricing Drives 20-30% of Top Line Growth: Get Sh!t Done Growth Ally & Founder of Pricing Tool, Accrue lays it out below.

TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...


Here are some tools that will help non-profits scale<3

  • If you understand your customers, it's the ONLY marketing you'll need.

  • The BEST companies have mastered Organic Marketing and you can too here.

  • Paid ads will NEVER be as powerful as person-to-person connection. Master guerilla marketing.  

  • Your customers can help with Customer Acquisition. Find out how here.  

  • Learn how to turn your customers into a marketing machine here.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

Explore community membership here.


GET YOUR WEEKLY 5-MIN TRACTION BRIEFINGS SO YOU CAN GROW

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Marketing, Funding, Go-To-Market Alex Batdorf Marketing, Funding, Go-To-Market Alex Batdorf

How to Build a $50k Waitlist & Raise $3M with Tiffany Dufu, founder The Cru

Learn from Tiffany Dufu, founder of The Cru.

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"Startups exist not just to make stuff, make $, or even serve customers. They exist to learn how to build a sustainable business. This learning can be validated scientifically by running frequent experiments that allow you to test each element of your vision"



Tiffany Dufu validated the crap out of her business idea by building a $50,000 waitlist before launching which led to raising $3M from investors.


Founders build a lot of shit no one asked for.

They may be following a trend or, more likely, building something that solves the wrong problem because they didn't experiment and listen to feedback.

Founders fall victim to overhyped "motivational speakers" yelling at us on the internet to go "all-in" so we may go "all-in" on something that doesn't matter.

But here's what they don't tell us about going "all-in"...

Going all in is an intentional process that takes time and is ever-evolving. Not an overnight action made on a whim.

Ready to learn how to build with intention while getting to the bag?

What we'll brief you on:

  • How to validate a concept through a landing page.

  • How to build a $50k waitlist and what Tiffany did with it.

  • How to develop tech as a non-technical founder.

  • How to determine what to charge.

  • How to raise $3M from investors not knowing anyone in the VC world.

  • Learn the #1 thing we ALL need to get better at.

Founder: Tiffany Dufu | Company: The Cru | Location: New York, NY


Receipts before The Cru


Prior to The Cru, Tiffany had already dedicated her life’s work to advancing women and girls. She spent a decade curating and developing leadership through a peer inquiry-based model to support your peers working for organizations like Forte. Tiffany learned that having a supportive network of peers was key to her success and would often tell other women to do the same.



Problem-solving


You’ve probably heard the saying that your network is your net worth. However, what if you aren’t in a place or position to invest in building your network, especially when you have a high-demand job and life? Tiffany found that while she was preaching about building a crew because she already built one,  most women she spoke with didn’t have the bandwidth to build their own.


Solution


Through one of "Tiffany’s Epiphanies" (dope AF, right?!) She realized that offering a service that matched women who were mid-level professionals with their own crew could be powerful. And this just wasn't a good idea in theory - with the rise of coaching and mentor platforms, there's a need. 79% of millennials see mentors as crucial to their success.

It Started with 1 Landing Page...


If you’re an OG Get Sh!t Done Queen or Comrade, you know we started with 1 email. No website. That was similar for The Cru. She started with 1 landing page detailing her background with images of her personal crew, how her crew has driven her success, and a CTA (call to action) to sign-up if you wanted to take the headache of networking and get a Cru. She simply promoted across her social platforms and had several women sign up. From that initial landing page, they got 400 people to sign-up. A quick note - this is a POWERFUL approach that I recommend to test concepts. However, if you do not get the volume Tiffany did, that does NOT mean you failed. Keep in mind that Tiffany had already built some level of influence through speaking and a book prior to launching her business. Even if you get dozens, that’s awesome. #ComparisonIsAThief Learn how Tiffany set up her landing page and what she put on it.



How they validated the Concept of The Cru.


Tiffany went to werk! They did interviews with every.single.person. It took the entire summer, which served as additional market research and to know who would fit well in a Cru together. Don’t worry - her personal Cru showed up to help her do the interviews ;) The moment of truth for whether this concept would work was determined by 2 things - Them sending an email "We found your Cru. Sign-up" and if the person was willing to pay $499. 90% of women signed up and paid within 24 hours. Learn how they got to this conversion rate here.


How they Developed Tech.


You would have thought I was looking for another husband. Tiffany was now sitting on $50,000 given the women who signed up. 50% of that would build the initial tech platform to eliminate the manual nature of matching. However, going tech first wouldn’t have given them the rich data they needed to know WHAT to build. Too often founders jump to building technical products without knowing what they’re solving for and what features actually matter. Once the matches were made, she engaged an engineer to build the 1st algorithm, which is how they make matches today. Learn how she became the architect of what was built as a non-technical founder.

How they determined what to charge.


Tiffany is a self-proclaimed "joiner". She is a member of several communities. The way she determined pricing was by taking all of her memberships and then averaging out the annual membership. It ended up being $1k. She then told herself - "cut it in half". Learn how she determined pricing here.

She Raised $3M by learning about VC through Google.


When Tiffany launched, she had no idea what venture capital was. Not even kidding. However, as the Cru was growing from the original $50k they got from launching the landing page, they learned the cost of taking care of Cru’s was more than the $499. She decided she needed to get additional capital to create a high-quality experience. However, she had to ask herself whether or not VC was in alignment with her values and the vision she had for the company because Tiffany quickly learned that all money is not good money. Learn how Tiffany stayed true to her vision and values, and successfully raised $3M by finding the right sponsors to help her demystify the process.


How to Ask for Support.


There is no one that has invested in Tiffany Dufu that regrets investing in Tiffany Dufu. We are here for this BVE (big vagina energy) Tiffany has made strides across her career because she not only believed she was worthy but also knew that getting support would be critical to her success. The biggest barrier women have asking for help is that they see the other person is giving them something but they don’t understand their own value. Learn how Tiffany learned how to ask for support and her advice for how you.


Where You Can Support Tiffany?


If you know a woman who needs a Cru, check them out. And if you’re an investor who cares about community, connect with Tiffany.

TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...


Here are some tools that will help you build product for the low & raise capital<3

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

Explore community membership here.

GET YOUR WEEKLY 5-MIN TRACTION BRIEFINGS SO YOU CAN GROW

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Funding, Business Development Alex Batdorf Funding, Business Development Alex Batdorf

How to Raise $11M in 16 Months Post-Launch through Community with Betsy Fore, Tiny Organics

Learn how raise capital and build community with Betsy Fore.

You're viewing an archive of Get Sh!t Done Weekly Email Traction Briefings. Join free to receive your weekly 5-minute growth playbooks & grow alongside thousands of entrepreneurs

We’re bringing your very first Get Sh!t Done Traction Briefing - your weekly skimmable deep dive into specific tried & true traction strategies, tactics, tools, and templates used by women founders who have successfully scaled.

There's so much shit you have to figure out as an entrepreneur and so little time. We want this to be the one email you get that helps you figure it out and get it done.


Ready for your first Traction Briefing?

Founder: Betsy Fore | Company: Tiny Organics | Location: Chicago, IL

Dayyuuummm, girl! That's exactly how I felt when Betsy Fore, founder of Tiny Organics told me how quickly she was able to raise $11 Million in 16 months after launching!

Raising money is hella hard.

Raising a Series A is even HARDER, especially since many women founders don't make it past seed. Actually... who are we kidding? Women founders on the VC-track are barely getting pre-seed and seed funds.

My girl Betsy not only did it but is the first Indigenous woman EVER to raise Series A.


Problem

Only 10% of children are getting the recommended veggie servings per day and the majority of that is through French fries. Only 12% of American adults are metabolically healthy while 50% of adults are considered sick. I don't know about you but I'm jetting to the store to grab more veggies. BRB.


Solution

Baby and toddler meals created by Baby Nutritionists with fresh, nutrient-rich, &  palette expanding recipes. Seriously - we're kind of jealous of the babies ;)

From the Reservation to Toy Inventor to 100 Million Users w/ the founder of the Calm App to Wearables for Dogs.


Betsy had NO background in food. She actually got her start as a toy inventor. She's basically the Indigenous Thomas Edison. She then helped the founder of Calm grow his previous venture to 100 million users before building her first company, WonderfWoof to create wearables for dogs. She launched that company with a $50k grant then it was acquired 8 years later. Here's WHY this matters - like the founder of Calm - founders who raise a butt load of money quickly AND early, typically check one or more of these boxes: has a previous exit, grew another startup, employee #X at a high growth company (think of Paypal Mafia), trust fund (this is actually less likely contrary to popular belief), etc. Here's the thing - institutional investors are trying to derisk the investment as much as possible because early-stage companies are inherently risky. If you have no prior experience that signals you can be successful - you're probably not getting that much money that fast UNLESS you have TRACTION. The GREAT news is that Betsy breaks down how she launched both of her companies without funding initially from grants to personal funds.  

Who You Know Matters.


We gotta start being real about startup success. Who you know matters. PERIOD. It's really annoying to make it seem like a founder with a Harvard network was scrappier than the state school kid. Nah. The quicker you can fill degrees of separation, the easier it is to get things done. Betsy identifies the #1 ways to build meaningful relationships - telling your story. But what if you don't have the network? Learn how Betsy broke down network barriers to form relationships with the founder of Calm, founder of Build-a-Bear, etc.

Growing 500% post-launch


We've said it before - traction makes everything else irrelevant. There's no silver bullet to growth. Instead, there's a series of experiments that teach you what to lean into for growth. Betsy made community core from the beginning and experimented products with 100 families prior to launching. This led to co-creating what the market wanted and building in customers who boosted the brand to drive 500% YOY growth post-launch. With those numbers, investors will flock to you. Learn how Betsy ran experiments with her community.


Community is Key to Organic Growth & Product Market Love <3


Her focus on community organically grew the company into a multi-million dollar empire in less than 2 years (pre-funding) That initial test with 100 families not only drove revenues but also partnerships. Communities are powerful marketing engines! Each community member is a walking build board when you are solving a need and serving them with care.  This landed her partnerships with Michelle Obama's organization and landed her on Oprah's Favorite Things. Judith also breaks down how creating product market love helped her raise $130M. I think they're on to something ;) Learn how to leverage community to grow organically and build lovable products.

Pathways for Indigenous Founders.


We truly believe women are major to scaling impact and Betsy is living proof of not just growing for growth's sake to get "unicorn" status but rather growing for impact and lifting as you rise. In just 2 years of being in business, Besty and 2 other Indigenous queens are funding other Indigenous founders because true queens create more crowns. Follow her for updates.

Final Take - Community is the New Moat


Let's be clear - randomly starting a Facebook, Slack,or Discord group that no one asked you for is not the business! Community is all about intention and it's hella work. If you're like me (when I actually had a Facebook) you get invited to so many groups and side-eye because 90% aren't adding value. If you feel community is the way to go, get the full breakdown below. We've also listed Traction Tools below to help you build community with intention.

TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...
Here are some tools that will help you grow with community.

Community Growth Myths: Hint: Communities do not run themselves.  

  • "Call your girlfriend Customer" (Robyn voice) Too often, founders build without checking in with their customers consistently. When was the last time you spoke to your customer? If you had to think about it, you're not talking to them enough. Put together a list of 5-10 of your top customers and reach out to them to schedule quick 15-min calls to get feedback. Here are some questions to ask and here are some incentives you can offer.TIP: Consumers lie to themselves often. This is why sending surveys don't always get to the heart of their needs. So start dialing!

  • How to Become a Better Listener - before you get on the phone, you'll need to listen better instead of searching for what you think is the answer. Learn how.

MONEY MOVES: State of Funding

Why Women STILL ain't getting the bag: "VCs are more comfortable hosting events dedicated to helping underrepresented founders than actually funding them... Instead of writing checks, investors engage in so-called virtue signaling, observed these frustrated entrepreneurs." Among many other reasons. Investors - stop wasting founders' goddam time. We need transparency. Be honest about where you stand and give feedback when you can. Don't be a f**k boy/girl/person. Women Founders - Focus on building traction instead of waiting on a check. Your best investor will ALWAYS be your customer.

  • Where Women Founders are Gaining Ground in VC: This is a dope interactive article that shows you what cities and verticals are picking up steam

  • Learn How to Fundraise from Outreach to Closing Checks here.

  • Turn an Investor "No" into a Yes: Yep. It's possible and necessary for you to protect your time. Learn how.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT & OTHER TRACTION TIPS....

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

Explore community membership here.


GET YOUR WEEKLY 5-MIN TRACTION BRIEFINGS SO YOU CAN GROW

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